Key To My Heart
by Lady Emily
Summary: When Bailey gets locked out of her cabin after the big breakup, she ends up rooming with Marcus and Zack- who must hide their new roommate from Cody. Meanwhile, Woody and Cody devise a method to keep a miserable Cody from thinking about Bailey.
1. The Key to My Heart

A/N: Welcome to my story. I'm doing something a little stupid here and not finishing it completely before I post it (I'm about four chapters in) but I couldn't wait to share it with you! Stay tuned for lots of craziness and don't forget to keep me motivated with reviews! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am not making any profit from the writing of this story.

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_The Key To My Heart... I Mean, My Cabin._

Bailey couldn't believe what was happening. Here they were, at their anniversary dinner, under the stars in the most romantic city on the planet... fighting like cats and dogs. Tears stung her eyes. How could such a little misunderstanding have spiraled so far out of control?

Bitterly, she forced the words out of her lips. "Then I guess it's over."

Cody's face took on the stricken expression of someone who'd just been punched in the gut. "Fine."

"Fine!" Unable to look at him for another second, Bailey turned on her heel, running to the elevator where she could break down in peace. She never noticed the metallic clink as something dropped out of the pocket of her wrap.

Cody didn't follow her.

Later, she would be relieved that there was no one else around to see what a mess she was, but as the elevator doors closed behind her, all she could think about was what had just happened... the terrible mistake she'd made, the horrible things Cody had said to her... she'd never had one person hurt her so much.

By the time the elevator reached the bottom, the raw shock had worn off. Bailey buried her mouth in one hand, sobbing like a child, as she stepped into the bustling Paris street. A few passers-by gave her curious or concerned looks, but no one said anything.

All Bailey wanted to do was get back to the ship, lock herself in her cabin with the lights off, get into her warm, comfortable bed, and cry until she was all cried out. She stopped at a street sign and it took her a moment to read it, squinting through the tears she couldn't seem to suppress. Finally, she just took off in the direction she thought she remembered coming from.

Normally she prided herself on her ability to navigate new cities, but tonight everywhere she turned seemed unfamiliar and unwelcoming. She took a few wrong turns, beginning to wonder if she was somehow going in circles... the frustration of being lost only made her more upset, until she wanted to lie down on one of the wrought-iron benches that lined the street and just fall asleep forever. Just then she passed a large crowd of people congregated in a park across the street.

"Hey! Bailey!"

Bailey recognized the voice and sniffled, wiping her eyes on the back of her wrist and glancing around for the source of the call. At the center of the crowd was Marcus, wearing a loud red costume and standing with a smaller boy who was wearing the same thing.

"Bailey!" he called. "We're about to give an encore! Come on over here!"

Bailey mustered a watery smile for the people who had turned to see who the infamous Lil' Lil' was talking to, and waved him off, shaking her head. She hoped the distance was enough that he wouldn't notice she was crying. She couldn't even trust herself to speak aloud to turn down the invitation. Ducking her head, she continued on her way.

Marcus turned to his smaller counterpart and excused himself before jumping off the stage and pushing his way through the noisy crowd. Crossing the street, he caught up to Bailey, placing a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, startled, although she should have been perfectly able to hear him coming. "Whoa. Bailey. What's up?" he said, concerned. "Aren't you supposed to be on a da-" He stopped short as she turned around, giving him a clear view of her tearstained face.

"Cody broke up with me." she whispered.

Marcus just stared at her for a few seconds, unable to believe what he was hearing. Cody, break up with Bailey? Everyone knew the boy was head-over-heels for her... had he entered some kind of alternate universe?

But the heartbreak written on her face was definitely real, and Marcus did the only thing he could think of: he pulled her into a hug. For some reason he was startled when she buried her face in his shoulder and hugged him back- he and Bailey were friends, sure, but they had never been _this_ close. Her body shook with sobs and he rubbed her back gently. "Hey now... Everything's going to be all right..."

"No it won't." Bailey croaked back, not releasing him. He held onto her until her cries began to slow down. "I'm s-sorry, Marcus. You're supposed to be d-doing a show." she hiccupped. She brushed at the wet stain on his shoulder with her fingers. "And I ruined your sh-shirt!"

"Nah, forget it." Marcus said, waving a careless hand at the people in the park. "They came to see the _little _Lil' Lil' anyway. Anyone who can't tell the difference between me and him doesn't deserve to hear the real thing anyway." They separated, but he kept one arm wrapped around her shoulder. "Where are you headed, Bailey?"

Bailey sniffled. "Back to the ship. If I can find it."

"Mind if I come with?" Marcus asked, slowly turning her in the right direction. They began to walk.

"You don't have to take care of me, Marcus." Bailey said quietly. "You should enjoy the rest of the night. I'll be fine."

"No, I was getting tired anyway."

He was lying, and they both knew it, but Bailey was too grateful for his assistance to call him out. "Thank you, Marcus."

With his help, they were back on the ship in less than ten minutes. Bailey didn't know how she could have gotten so disoriented that close to port, but she had bigger things on her mind. Like getting into bed and never coming out.

Marcus insisted on walking her to her cabin, even as she insisted, "I've got it from here, really." They stopped at her door and Bailey fumbled through the pockets of her wrap, searching for her cabin key. Not finding it, she opened her clutch, pawing through it with a growing sense of urgency. "I can't find my key."

Marcus watched as she began removing items from her purse. "Want me to hold something?"

"Thanks." Bailey draped her wrap over his arm first, then began to pile the contents of her purse into his hands: cell phone, wallet, passport, lipstick, chapstick, cover-up, tissues, tampons, gum, sunglasses, tourist brochures, nail scissors, band-aids, a packet of saltines, a paperback copy of _Cyrano de Bergerac..._

Marcus was mystified, staring at the assortment of objects in his hands. "Why do you carry this all around?"

"Because I need it." Bailey returned absently, continuing to dig.

"How does it even all _fit?_" he asked, looking at the tiny size of the clutch.

She handed him the last item- a screwdriver- and turned the clutch upside-down, revealing it to be empty. "Could anything _else_ go wrong?" she said miserably. Then she remembered something. "Oh, wait!" She knocked on the door. "London? London, are you home? _Please_ be home!"

There was no answer.

Marcus spoke up reluctantly. "Bailey, I think earlier London said she was going to spend the rest of the week with her father..."

Bailey gasped. "Oh my gosh, I totally forgot! Mr. Tipton's got a château a few hours outside of Paris and London is staying with him until the boat leaves! That's not until next week! What am I going to do?"

Marcus began to cram Bailey's things back into her purse. "Calm down, Bailey, it's not so bad. You can hang out in my room for a bit until we figure something out."

"B-but..." Bailey was on the verge of tears again. Was getting in bed for a good cry after such a horrible day too much to ask? "But my _toothbrush _is in there! I need that!" she cried with heartbreaking sincerity, turning to Marcus with a miserable, pleading look on her face. "Can you break it down?"

"Ah..." he realized she was upset, but wasn't she was being a _little_ ridiculous? "Well, I _could_ do that, but _instead_, how about if I let you into _my_ room, and you can relax while I go find Mr. Moseby and ask if he can get you a spare key?" he suggested rationally. Seeing that she was about to protest, he continued, "-And if he, by chance, doesn't have one- _which I'm sure he will_, I will stop by the gift shop on my way back and pick you up a toothbrush."

Bailey took a deep breath, calming slightly. "Okay." she acquiesced.

He led her to the boys' cabins, quickly finding his own key and letting her into his and Zack's cabin. The room was actually fairly clean for once, Marcus thought, dropping Bailey's purse and wrap on his bed. That was good, at least. "So, make yourself at home." he told his friend. "I'm not sure when Zack will be back... Come to think about it, I haven't seen him in a _while_. I hope he's okay... Okay? Bailey?" The girl had sunk onto his roommate's bed and begun sobbing once more. "Bailey? What's wrong now?"

She wiped her nose on the back of her hand. "Sorry... it's just, thinking about Zack makes me think about C-... C-C-..." She couldn't even manage to get out the other twin's name, burying her face in her hands.

Marcus rolled his eyes heavenward. He felt bad for her, he did. She was obviously hurting, and he hated seeing the normally perky, confident girl this unhappy. But how was he supposed to know how to comfort a crying girl? Wasn't this what they had _girlfriends_, and Ben and Jerry, and the Lifetime channel for? He sat down next to her. "Come on, Bails-"

"Cody used to call me 'Bails'..." she wailed, inconsolable.

"Okay, okay!" He gave her an awkward pat on the back. "Look, everything will be better in the morning." he promised soothingly. "I'll go get the key from Moseby, you can go back to your room and get a good night's sleep, and you'll feel much better, okay? It's going to be fine, Bailey. Trust me on this."

Bailey nodded but continued to weep into her fingers. "Th-thanks, Marcus. You're so great..." she forced out.

Marcus gave her back one final rub and stood up. "You're great too, Bailey. Now you just relax, okay? I'll be back real soon." He barely waited for her confirmation before slipping out the door, slightly ashamed that he was so relieved to have a reprieve from her misery. "Whew."

* * *

It took him a while to find Mr. Moseby, who was still in disguise after accidentally ruining the Tour de France and being set upon by a mob of angry Parisians. Finally, he spotted the ship's manager and explained Bailey's situation. Mr. Moseby, too, was shocked to hear about the breakup, and he quickly peeled off his false mustache and agreed to help.

"Of course we keep spare keys to all the student cabins," he told Marcus as they walked together to the front desk. Unlocking a cabinet behind the desk, he opened it to reveal several rows of keys... however, the hook with Bailey and London's cabin number on it was empty. Moseby's eyes widened in realization. "We keep spare keys to all the student cabins... except when one of the keys belonged to a student who was bribed to leave the ship." He rubbed his head with one hand. "I'm afraid Bailey's key _was _the spare key for her cabin. London's old roommate never returned her key when she left."

Marcus had never met London's original roommate, but he knew the story well enough: London had not wanted to share a room, so she secretly bribed the girl with expensive jewelry to get her to leave... only to be stuck with Bailey when the teachers discovered she was actually a girl and not a boy like they'd thought. "Well that was inconsiderate of her." Marcus deadpanned. "Maybe you could call London and ask her to send Bailey the key."

"Oh no," Moseby protested. "I can't disturb London when she's finally having some family time with her father. She's waited so long for this vacation... And if I disturb Mr. Tipton..." he shuddered. "Best case scenario: I lose my job."

"I'd hate to hear the worst case scenario." Marcus commented.

"So would I..." Mr. Moseby frowned, thinking. "Well, I guess all that's left to do is wait until London returns and then have a copy of her key made. In the meantime, I'm sure Bailey can find a friend to stay with. Perhaps Addison."

Marcus sighed wearily. "Perhaps." he said dryly, knowing full well that when he had to break the news to Bailey, he would also have to offer that she stay with him and Zack. Although Moseby would doubtless disapprove of a co-ed rooming situation, Marcus knew that he, Zack, Woody, and London were Bailey's only close friends on the ship, and with London gone and Woody's cabin not suitable for obvious reasons, he and Zack were all she had. "Well, thanks for your help, Mr. Moseby. I'll explain the situation to her. I'm sure she'll be able to find somewhere to crash for a few days." He sighed again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go buy a toothbrush."

After a quick stop at the gift shop, Marcus entered his room slowly, dreading the weepy state he was sure he'd find Bailey in. Instead, he found her curled up on Zack's bed, obviously having cried herself to sleep. Not wanting to wake her, he set her toothbrush on the nightstand beside her and grabbed a spare blanket from the closet, draping it over the sleeping girl. Then he turned off the overhead light and switched on his small desk lamp, sitting in his chair and picking up the novel he'd been reading.

It was going to be a long couple of days.


	2. A Bathroom Tete A Tete

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed- you're all fantastic! And you made me laugh! Yes, I do love love_ love_ playing with Cody and Bailey's breakup, and dear lord, can you even imagine a "Mailey" story? Tee hee.

Enjoy chapter two!  
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_A Bathroom Tête-á-Tête_

It was late when Zack finally felt able to leave his desolate brother and return to his own room. After he and Woody had met up with (or, more accurately, fallen out of an airplane _onto_) Cody, he had spent every minute trying to convince his brother that everything was going to be okay, and that there were better fish than Bailey in the sea. Unfortunately, Cody hated the fish metaphor, and spent the next several hours detailing why Bailey was not only the best fish in the sea, but, in fact, the only.

Cody's relationship with Bailey had easily been the most serious romantic relationship he'd ever been in, and Zack knew that it was even worse than that: his brother _loved_ Bailey. _Loved _her, loved her. Even though- from what Zack could tell- the breakup was half Cody's fault, Zack couldn't see him moving on anytime soon. The next few days weren't going to be easy for anyone. _Note to self: think of a way to make Cody forget Bailey._

He turned his key quietly in the lock; Marcus was doubtless already asleep. Entering the darkened room, Zack silently kicked off his sneakers and stepped out of his shorts, pulled back the covers and slipped into bed. Partway. His leg encountered a warm body and he jumped back in alarm, tumbling off the bed and onto the floor with a loud thump.

There was a gasp from his bed, and then a high-pitched scream. Something stirred off to his right. Stumbling to his feet, Zack groped for the light switch and flicked it on, revealing the previous occupant of his bed.

"Bailey!"

"Zack?" Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she was covering her mouth. "Oh my gosh."

It was at this point Zack realized he was standing before her in his underwear. Muttering under his breath, he stepped back into his shorts and yanked them back up. "Uh, Marcus?" he swiveled his head to the chair where his bleary-eyed roommate had just been startled awake. "Care to explain what's going on here?"

Bailey got out of Zack's bed, the spare blanket wrapped around her. "Sorry, Zack." she sniffled. She didn't look any better than Cody had. Whose idea had it been for them to break up again? "I guess I fell asleep in your bed waiting for Marcus to come back with my key." She looked at Marcus hopefully, and he shook his head.

"Sorry, Bailey." he said groggily. "Moseby said there's no spare and you'll have to stay with someone else until London gets back and we can make a copy."

Bailey bit her lip. "What? But..."

"Hey, if you want, you can stay h-" Marcus' offer was cut off when Zack took his arm roughly.

"Um, Marcus? Roommate conference." He glanced around, realizing that he couldn't have this talk in front of Bailey, until his eyes settled on the bathroom door. "In... uh, the bathroom."

"Roommate conference in the bathroom?" Marcus repeated, groaning as Zack yanked him out of his chair. "We don't usually have these, I swear." he assured Bailey, allowing Zack to drag him to the bathroom door. The two boys crammed into the tiny bathroom and somehow managed to shut the door. "Look, man, she fell asleep there and I didn't want to wake her, so I figured I'd sleep in the big chair and you could take my bed, but I fell asleep too-"

"Bailey cannot stay here." Zack said immediately, keeping his voice low so she wouldn't hear him.

"But why not?" Marcus asked. "She's our friend, and she's got nowhere else to go. It's not like she can stay with Woody and Cody- she and Cody just-"

"Broke up, believe me, I know." Zack finished. "And that's exactly why she can't stay. My brother is across the hall, crying his eyes out over losing this girl. How am I supposed to tell him I came home tonight to find her in my bed? He's having a hard enough time as it is, he doesn't need her living ten feet away, reminding him of it every minute!"

"Well, _she_ doesn't need to be homeless!" Marcus pointed out.

"She broke Cody's heart!"

"He broke hers too!" Marcus replied. "You should have seen her earlier, Zack, wandering the streets of Paris aimlessly, sobbing... Look, it's just a few days. Can't we just... not tell Cody?"

Zack folded his arms. "You want me to _lie_ to my _brother_? ...Okay, yeah, I guess we can do that."

* * *

When Zack woke up the next morning Marcus was already gone, but much to his surprise, Bailey was still fast asleep on his bed. Grabbing a new set of clothes, he ducked inside the bathroom to change. He emerged, groaning and stretching, beginning to wish he'd taken Marcus up on his offer of his bed instead of the floor, and did a double take as he looked at his watch. "Bailey? Bailey!"

She stirred. "Mhmm?"

"It's one pm on a Saturday. I know what_ I'm_ still doing in bed, but what are _you_?" Zack knew Bailey was one of those 'early-riser' types, just like his brother. Seeing her still in bed after noon was something he'd never expect.

"I'm sleeping." Bailey grumbled. "Why should I get up? What reason is there to get up?"

Zack was momentarily floored by her unusually perk-less attitude, and he was suddenly sure that despite being an early bird, across the hall, Cody was still curled up in bed saying the same thing. Zack peered out the porthole. "We're on a_ cruise ship_ that's docked in _Paris_. I'm sure you can find something exciting to do."

Bailey began to sniffle, shaking her head. "I hate Paris. I'm not going out."

"But I thought you wanted to go see the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe, and tour the sewer system?" Zack didn't think that last one sounded like very much fun, but she'd been excited about it yesterday...

"That was then, this is now." Bailey said stubbornly, pulling the blanket over her head. "Please, Zack, just leave me alone. I need some time to- to-"

She was crying. _Oh, great_. He sat down on his bed and found her shoulder with one of his hands. "Bailey, are you okay? Look, it's not the end of the world."

"Then how come it feels like it?" Bailey whimpered.

Zack tried to reason with her the best he knew how. "Come on, Bailey. You're like, a super hot girl. I see guys checking you out all the time. You'll find someone else!"

"I don't _want_ someone else!" Bailey cried though a fresh wave of tears.

Zack was getting deja vu. He was 0 for 2 on his "other fish in the sea" speech. "Come on, wouldn't it be great to date a guy who _isn't _afraid of your germs?"

Bailey pulled down the blanket and glared at him through bloodshot eyes. "How can you say that about your own brother?"

Zack opened his mouth and closed it. "Uh...?"

She reached for a tissue to wipe her nose. "I'll never find another guy like him." she moaned.

Zack thought about the irony of sitting right in front of Bailey while she complained that she'd never find anyone like his identical twin and began to laugh, despite himself.

Bailey actually _growled_ at him. "Not _you!_" She whacked him with his own pillow and then retreated back under the covers.

Zack stood, raising his hands in surrender. "All right, all right, I'm sorry." he placated. "Look, if you're this miserable without him, maybe you should go try to work things out with him."

Bailey's sobs stopped for a moment. "After everything he said to me?" she said in a watery voice. "I don't think so. Clearly he doesn't want to be with someone so stupid and selfish and distrusting and..." and she broke into tears again. This time, the sobs were more forceful.

Zack sighed, wondering if he hadn't just accidentally pushed her out of the "grief" stage and into the "anger" stage. "Okay, well, is there anything I can do for you?"

"No thank you." Bailey murmured. "Just let me be, Zack. Please..."

"Okay. Feel better. I'll be back later." Zack told her. _Much later, if I can help it._ He opened the door and slipped into the hallway at the same time as Woody emerged from the room across the hall.

"Cody's not getting out of bed today." Woody told him.

"Neither is Bailey." Zack replied, before realizing that if he told _Woody_ about Bailey's new sleeping arrangements, Cody would know in no time. "I mean, I heard she's locked herself in her room and won't open the door for anything."

"Not even for food?" Woody asked in disbelief.

"I guess not." Zack shrugged. "I guess they're both going to be missing out on all the crêpes, éclairs, escargot..."

"French bread, French fries, French toast..." Woody continued eagerly. "Geez, and they think _we're _the stupid ones."


	3. Does the Name Pavlov Ring a Bell?

A/N: Welcome to chapter 3, now with fifty percent more Woody! Unlike Marcus (who is almost never funny), I love Woody on the show because even though he is not at all funny 98 percent of the time, when he is funny, it's_ comedy gold. _Enjoy the chapter, and please, keep up the lovely reviews!_  
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Does The Name Pavlov Ring a Bell?_

Zack returned to his cabin that evening to find Bailey sitting cross-legged on his bed, hard at work with her nail scissors, cutting Cody's face out of a family photograph of him, Cody, and their mom.

"Uh, Bailey? What are you doing?"

"I couldn't take him staring at me! The jerk!" Calmly, she replaced the damaged photo in its frame, and set it back on the nightstand where she'd found it. She stared at the piece with Cody's face for a minute before crumpling it up and tossing it toward the trash can.

"Okay..." Zack said slowly, "But that wasn't even your picture. You can't just- Huh. So that's what I'd look like as an only child." He shrugged it off, dumping his backpack on his desk chair. "You missed out on some crazy adventures today, Bailey. Woody and I recovered a stolen painting from an international art thief."

"Huh." Bailey said. "That sounds interesting. You know Zack, I'm really tired. I think I'm going to go back to bed."

"You just got out of bed." Zack pointed out.

"Well, I'm going back."

* * *

Cody was still lying in bed, in the dark, thinking about Bailey when Woody came back.

"Hey, buddy, how you doing?" Woody said in an overly sympathetic tone.

"Meh." Cody answered, rolling onto his side, away from his roommate.

"That good, huh?" Woody flicked on the light switch, ignoring Cody's moan of protest. "So Zack and I captured an art thief." When Cody didn't respond, Woody sat down on his bed and opened up his satchel. "Hey, I brought you a present... Surprise! It's a baguette!" He removed the long loaf of bread from his bag and jabbed Cody in the back with it repeatedly.

Cody reached around and grabbed the other end of it, ripping off a large chunk. "Bailey loved French bread... We were going to eat it with our anniversary dinner..." he broke into tears, tossing the bread aside.

Woody stared at the maimed baguette in dismay. "Hey! I was just trying to cheer you up!" he cried indignantly. "There's no need to waste food!"

Cody sat up, burying his face in his hands. "I'm sorry, Woody. That was nice of you... But I miss her so much!"

Woody nodded. "I know, Cody, but you've got to pull yourself together. You've been in bed for twenty-four hours straight! You can't let her do this to you, man!"

Cody shook his head. "But I can't get her out of my head! Everything I see reminds me of her." he picked up a glass of water on the nightstand. "Like this cup reminds me of how happy she was when I gave her the amulet of Aphrodite as a present!"

Woody raised his eyebrows. "Okay...?"

"Because the fake amulet actually turned out to be the real thing, and we had to return it by dressing up as statues and sneaking into the museum, and I had to lift the cover of the display case to switch out the replica with the real one, and the display case was made of _glass_, just like this!" Cody explained tearfully.

Woody smacked Cody in the back of the head with the remainder of the baguette.

"Hey! What was that for!" Cody yelped angrily. "That hurt! Plus you just got crumbs everywhere! Now we have to vacuum again!"

"There's the Cody I know and love." Woody said sagely, taking a big bite out of the crumbling loaf of bread.

Cody stared at him, huffing, then realized something. "Hey, you're right. I guess I stopped thinking about Bailey for a minute there."

"Yeah?" Woody asked hopefully, mouth full of breadcrumbs.

"Yeah." Cody was deep in thought. "You just reminded me of Ivan Pavlov's dogs."

"Hey! I know I'm not conventionally handsome, but I wouldn't say I'm _doglike_!" Woody protested, offended.

"No, Ivan Pavlov was a Russian psychologist in the early twentieth century who invented a concept called classical conditioning. He had these dogs, and every time he fed them, he would ring a bell. Eventually, he would ring the bell without giving them food, but the dogs would begin salivating anyway, because they had learned to automatically start the digestion process at the sound of the food bell."

"...So you're saying I drool."

Cody rolled his eyes. "No, Woody. I mean, maybe we can use classical conditioning to help me stop thinking about Bailey so much. If, instead of food, we use some kind of _negative_ reinforcement whenever I start talking about Bailey, the reinforcement will subconsciously make me _not_ want to think about her and I'll eventually stop thinking about her automatically." he explained.

"So... in this case, the negative reinforcement was getting whacked with a loaf of bread?" Woody ventured.

"Exactly." Cody confirmed. "By hitting me, you're associating the idea of Bailey with pain, and-"

Woody smacked him with the baguette again. "You said Bailey." he explained briefly at Cody's glare.

"Woody! Crumbs!"


	4. There's No Such Thing As Dirty Soap

A/N: As always, thanks so much to all my reviewers- your feedback really makes my day! Enjoy chapter 4- it's one of my favorites!

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There's No Such Thing As Dirty Soap_

The next morning Cody was shaken awake by Woody. "Wake up, Cody. You're hanging out with me and Zack today. It's another beautiful day in Paris."

He pronounced it "Pah-ree." Cody groaned and covered his head with his pillow. "Why don't you guys just go without me? I'm not in the mood today."

Woody grabbed the hollow plastic wiffle ball bat he had taken to keeping by his bed. "Why not?"

Cody's eyes widened. "I just don't feel like it."

"But today we're going to the museum to pick up some artistic chicks!" Woody protested, holding the bat over his head. "Why don't you want to come?"

Cody shielded his head with his arms. "I don't want to!"

Woody smacked him in the stomach with the bat. It wasn't heavy, but it stung a bit.

"Hey, I didn't even _say_ Bailey!"

Woody smacked him again.

Cody wrapped his arms around his stomach. "Okay I walked right into that one."

"You were thinking about her." Woody said. "Why else wouldn't you want to come? You love museums, and hanging out with me and Zack."

Cody sighed. "I know. But I can't walk around checking out girls with you guys today. It's too soon." He cringed, sure that Woody would whack him for referencing the breakup, but to his surprise, Woody held off.

"Okay. I get it. Look, we'll try to keep the ogling to a minimum. It's not like I've ever hooked one anyway." Woody offered. "But you have to come. Come on, buddy, it's Paris!"

Cody frowned. Even just the word "Paris" made him think of Bailey. It would forever be associated with their breakup. "I don't know, Woody..."

Woody smacked him with the wiffle bat again, a series of tiny whaps. "Stop thinking about Bailey and get up, get up, get up!" he cried. "You're going out today, and you're going to like it!"

Cody leaped out of bed and away from the wiffle bat assault.

"There we go!" Woody cried triumphantly. "Now go shower and change! You've been wearing the same thing for two days and, as ironic as it is coming from me, you're really starting to stink!"

Cody looked down at the wrinkled tuxedo pants he'd been wearing since the breakup, then took a subtle sniff at the white collared shirt. Yuck. Wearing the same thing for two full days was something Zack would do, not _him_. He took a deep, cleansing breath. Maybe it would be good for him to go out. "You're right, Woody. Thanks." He shoved his hands into his pockets and his fingers encountered something small and metallic. He pulled it out, staring at it in the palm of his hand.

It was Bailey's room key, the one that had fallen out of her pocket when she was running from the Eiffel Tower, right after they'd broken up. He'd seen her drop it and picked it up, staring at it for a long time without actually seeing it, before pocketing it himself, meaning to give it back to her when he got a chance.

"What's that?" Woody asked.

Cody quickly closed his fist around it, knowing that if he told the truth he'd be in for another wiffle-beating. "Nothing." He grabbed his towel and headed into the bathroom. "Give me five minutes."

* * *

"Get up."

"No."

"Get up."

"No!"

Zack sighed. "I'm not saying you have to go into Paris, Bailey. You don't even have to leave the ship. Just go down to the galley and get something to eat. You must be starving!"

"I'm fine." Just then her stomach growled loudly.

"Fine, eh?" Zack mocked. He grabbed her ankles and tried to pull her off the bed. "I'm serious Bailey. You're going to make yourself sick. Get up right now, or so help me god, I will go get Cody and show him what you've been reduced to!"

That had Bailey scrambling out of bed. "You wouldn't."

"Oh no? Maybe I'll ask him if you can stay in his room instead, so I can have my bed back!" Zack pretended to consider it.

"Okay, okay!" Bailey cried. "Fine, you win. I'll go get something to eat. There's just one problem." She gestured down at her clothes. She was still wearing the same fancy dress from her date with Cody in Paris. "I can't go out like this, and I have nothing else to wear!"

Zack gave a long-suffering sigh. "Well... you and I are around the same height... I guess you can borrow something."

Bailey squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to think about the humiliation of borrowing clothes from her ex-boyfriend's brother. "Do you have anything _clean_?" she finally asked, glancing around at the dirty clothes scattered around the room.

"Well, _clean_ is relative."

Bailey cringed.

"I'm joking, relax." Zack said defensively, digging through one of his drawers and tossing a folded tee shirt and a pair of shorts her way. "But I'm not lending you any underwear."

Bailey caught the clothing. "I wouldn't ask you to." she assured him in the same tone of voice. She started to walk towards the bathroom and stopped, turning back to him. "Zack?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Bailey took a few tentative steps towards him. "I know I've been a huge pain in the neck, and you're probably angry at me because of... you know, Cody. You didn't have to let me stay in your room, or sleep in your bed, or borrow your stuff, but you did, and I really appreciate it, Zack. You and Marcus are great friends, and I don't know what I would have done without you. So thanks. For everything."

Zack's annoyance at her faded at her earnest speech. "Hey, what are friends for?" he said, opening his arms for a hug. She moved into them and they held each other tightly for a long moment. "Bailey, there's something else I need to tell you. As a friend."

Bailey pulled back. "What's that?"

Zack grinned. "You stink. Take a shower."

Bailey swatted him. "Gee, thanks." She retreated into the bathroom and after a minute Zack heard the shower running.

"Use soap, it's beside the sink!" he called after her.

Bailey opened the door and stuck her head out, making a grossed-out face. "Ew, there's hair on it!"

Zack shrugged. "You know what they say about beggars..."

"They use dirty soap?" Bailey joked.

"There's no such thing as dirty soap." Zack said sagely. They both laughed as Bailey wrinkled her nose and shut the door once more.

* * *

A few minutes later, Bailey emerged from the bathroom, clean and sporting Zack's clothes. Her dripping hair was pulled back in a bun. Zack chuckled. "Brings back memories of the day we met." he said, remembering how Bailey had dressed like a boy and hidden her long hair under a baseball cap, fooling everyone on board for... less than twenty four hours.

Bailey mustered a smile. "Yeah." she tugged at the shorts which were sitting dangerously loosely around her slim waist. "I think they look better on you than me."

Zack leaned back and folded his arms, pretending to be checking her out. "That's weird, I was about to say the same thing to you."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Oh please. And you can't get girls with lines like that? Shocking."

They both walked toward the door, Zack to meet up with Woody and Bailey to go find food. "I'll have you know that I _can _get girls with lines like that." Zack objected, pulling open the door to see Woody and Cody standing on the other side.

Quickly, he reached back into the room, giving Bailey a push. She flew backward, falling onto his bed with a little squeal. "_Zack!_"

Zack stepped into the hall and shut the door with a slam.

"What was that?" Woody asked.

"Ah... rat." Zack lied.

"A talking rat?" Woody pressed skeptically.

"Uh, no, I meant, Marcus,_ stepping_ on a rat." Zack said hastily. "His, uh, voice gets very high-pitched when he... steps on a rat."

"You guys have rats?" Cody spoke up, looking disgusted. "Your room is that nasty?"

"Bro!" Zack slapped Cody on the back. "Good to see you out and about! It's a ship, dude. Rats everywhere."

"Our cabin doesn't have rats." Cody pointed out. "And I live with _Woody._"

"I thought Marcus had a meeting with the record company's lawyer to discuss the Lil' Lil' impostor this morning?" Woody asked.

"Well... yes, he does. He's very late for it." Zack said. He grabbed onto the doorknob, holding it still as Bailey tried to open it from the inside. "You're late for your meeting, _Marcus_! _Cody _and _Woody_ are out here, so I'm going with them. You can get... rat... food later!" He sighed in relief as the doorknob stopped turning, meaning that Bailey had understood his cleverly coded message.

"Okay, Zack. See ya." Bailey's imitation of Marcus' voice was pretty bad, and Zack tried to hustle the other boys away before anyone could question it, but Cody lingered, staring at the door.

"Was that... _Bailey_?"

Woody produced a yellow wiffle bat and gave Cody a smack over the head.

Zack wrapped an arm around Cody's shoulders. "You are seriously losing it, bro. We need to get you off this boat."

Cody touched his crown and then shook his head as if to clear it. "Thanks guys. I needed that."


	5. Obedience School Dropout

A/N: Right up front, I'd like to apologize to all French people for my horrible interpretation of their accents. I imagine Zack's date doing the guttural r thing, but I couldn't figure out how to write it phonetically lol. (Sorry- I took linguistics last semester...)

Anyways, thanks so much for your reviews. I love reading your thoughts and comments. Please keep it up!

* * *

_Obedience School Drop-Out_

Zack's date wasn't paying attention to him. He personally thought that the whole art thief story was pretty interesting, but if he couldn't even hook an art museum tour guide with it... He glanced over his shoulder to see what she was looking at.

"Why does zat boy keep heetting your bruzzer weeth a bat?" She asked in a concerned voice, pushing her long dark hair out of her face. Cody was sitting glumly on the rim of a cheerfully burbling fountain in the middle of the square, chin in his hands. Every few seconds Woody would prod him tiredly with the bat.

"It's a long story." Zack tried to explain. "He just broke up with his long-time girlfriend, and-"

"Oh dear! Poor boy..." The girl said sympathetically, immediately getting up and heading over to the fountain.

Growling under his breath, Zack followed her. Some guys used cute puppies to attract women; all_ he_ had to do was take a pathetically miserable Cody out in public and bam: like moths to a flame. The difference was, girls never actually fell for the _puppy._ "I told Mom we should have traded Cody for a dog." he muttered.

His lovely art museum tour guide had taken a seat next to Cody, putting a supportive hand on his shoulder, and of course, he was telling her all about Bailey. "...And that's when I found out she'd thought I was cheating on _her_ and run into the arms of another man!"

The brunette was shaking her head. "Oh, zat ees so sad. You were only trying to make your anniverzary roh-manteec..."

"Exactly!" Cody agreed sadly. "I just wanted to make her happy... I was crazy about her."

Woody waited until he was good and done with the story and then delivered a wiffle-ball-home-run-hitting smack to the back of Cody's head.

"Ow!" Cody groaned. "What? She asked about it!"

"What, you want me to hit her too?" Woody asked.

The beautiful tour guide brushed some hair out of Cody's face; Zack doubted his brother even noticed. "Zere must be a better way to make you forget about zis girl zen to heet you with a bat..." she said seductively.

Cody didn't even look at her. "If there is, I can't think of one." he said morosely.

Zack rolled his eyes so hard it actually hurt.

* * *

By the time the three boys got back to their cabins, Zack had had just about enough of Cody's depression. "Didja have fun today, Codes?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Cody didn't seem to notice his brother's frustration as he manufactured a small smile. "Yeah, I guess so." he said. "Thanks for including me, guys. I'm pretty tired though, I'm gonna hit the sack." he retreated into his cabin and shut the door, leaving Zack and Woody alone in the hall.

"Could you believe all those girls wanted to do was listen to Cody's breakup drama?" Zack hissed. "Like I don't get enough of it from him and Bailey!"

Woody immediately smacked him with the bat.

"Woody!"

"Oops, sorry." Woody said sheepishly, looking at the bat in his hand. "I guess this classical conditioning stuff is starting to work on me too. Hey, speaking of Bailey, I haven't seen her since the other night... is she really still shut up in her room?"

Zack shrugged. "As far as I know."

"You think she's okay?"

"I'm sure she's fine." Zack waved him off. "Don't worry about her too much. Good night, Woodster."

"Good night."

Zack waited until Woody's cabin door was completely closed before opening his own. Marcus was sitting at his desk again, typing on his laptop. Bailey was lying flat on Zack's bed, staring at the ceiling. "Hey Zack." Bailey said vaguely. "How'd you make out today?"

"I _didn't_, thanks to Cody." Zack complained. "I am never taking him babe-watching again!"

At the sound of Cody's name Bailey sat up, her head snapping towards him. Marcus was looking at him too, eyes wide, as if he was trying to signal Zack to literally put up his hands and back away from this incredibly sensitive subject.

But of course it was much, much too late for that.

"You... you took Cody babe-watching?" Bailey asked, a wounded expression on her face. "Like... to... to meet girls?"

It occurred to Zack just then that when Cody was with _Bailey_, girls never, ever ditched Zack for him. Girls had no interest in a happy Cody. "Well, yeah." he said slowly. "I mean, you guys are broken up, right? I figured it was time for him to start moving on."

Marcus was looking at him like he'd lost his mind.

Bailey swallowed hard. "Well, yes, but... it's only been two days since... since we...!" she protested.

Her eyes were getting shiny with tears, and Zack momentarily felt bad about purposely winding her up. But if she and Cody were ever going to admit that they loved each other and wanted each other back, someone had to be the bigger man and take the first step... and let's face it, out of the two of them, Bailey was probably the bigger man.

Bailey dabbed at one eye with the sleeve of Zack's oversized shirt. "Did... did he meet anyone?" she asked softly.

Zack sank down into his own desk chair. "Did he! The boy did nothing but meet hot French girls for eight straight hours! Every time_ I_ picked up a girl she'd take one look at _Cody_ and start hanging all over him!"

Bailey's mouth dropped open and she raised a hand over it to stifle a sob. Marcus shut his laptop and moved to sit behind her on the bed, placing a comforting hand on each of her shoulders. "Zack." he said, warning in his tone.

"That's fine." Bailey spoke up, in a strangled voice that suggested it was anything but fine. "Cody can do whatever makes him happy. It- it doesn't bother m-me." Her lower lip was actually _trembling_.

"Bailey..." Marcus rubbed her shoulder. "It's all right. Relax..." he shot Zack a look that very clearly said: _Mayday! Abort! Shut up!_

Ignoring his roommate, Zack leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "Bailey." he said gently, meeting her eyes. "Cody was surrounded by girls all day, hanging on his every word, and he didn't notice a _single one_."

He paused for effect as she looked up at him, stunned.

"He thinks that_ no one_ could ever measure up to you. He says that for him, you _are_ the only fish in the sea."

Bailey blinked at him and two tears streamed down her face. "He said that?" she whispered, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Yes!" Zack said insistently. "He's _completely_ miserable without you."

Bailey shook her head slightly, as if she didn't believe that could be true. "He-... He's really miserable?"

"Just as miserable as you are." Zack confirmed. "If that's even possible. Why can't you two just admit that you're both annoying, and you both need each other?"

* * *

It was late, past curfew, but Cody wasn't nervous about getting caught as he moved quietly through the hallway leading to the girls' cabins. He was nervous about other things.

Reaching Bailey's door, he knocked on it softly. He couldn't say why he was really here, he knew he sure as hell wasn't ready to talk to her.

But at the same time, he missed her so badly it felt like a piece was literally missing from his body- from somewhere in his chest. He just needed to see her, just needed to hear her voice. Even if she was still angry at him.

He knocked again, but she still didn't answer. He fingered the key in his pocket. _This_ was why he'd come: to return her key. And maybe, just maybe, to apologize. He'd spent the day in the company of what seemed like a dozen girls he didn't care about, when he should have been spending it with her.

"Bailey..." he whispered her name, and then flinched, despite knowing that Woody was nowhere near him. Rolling his eyes at his own ridiculousness, he called her again. "Bailey?"

Maybe she was asleep... or maybe she was still mad at him. Cody pressed one hand to her door. "Bails, it's me. Just talk to me, please. For one minute."

No answer. He glanced down at the key in his hand, tempted to let himself in. But of course he couldn't invade her privacy like that. If she didn't want to see him, that was her right, no matter how much he needed to see her. Resting his head gently on the doorframe, he continued on.

"Look, I'm sorry about the things I said. I was an idiot." He took a deep breath. "I miss you, Bails. And I've got something that belongs to you. Let me know when you're ready to talk." There was silence in the room. Defeated, Cody turned away... and nearly had a heart attack.

Woody was standing right behind him, a large platter in his hands.

"Jeez, Woody!" Cody hissed. "You scared me!" Then he looked at Bailey's door guiltily and cringed. "Please don't hit me with that... plate of... grilled cheese sandwiches?"

"I won't. Believe me, these sandwiches are too good to be wasted on you." Woody said. Then he pointed a stern finger at Cody. "But you're regressing. Trying to talk to you-know-who... Bad Cody! Bad!"

Cody rolled his eyes. "I'm not a dog, Woody."

"You're not?" Woody said. "But I thought that was the point of the conditioning thing! It's like obedience school, right?"

"Not exactly, Woody." Cody said dryly. "You really missed the point there, huh?"

Woody glared at him, shaking his head. "If I had a rolled-up newspaper right now I would _so_ hit you in the nose with it."

Cody just gave him a look and walked away, completely forgetting to ask what Woody was doing there in the first place.

"Stay off the furniture!" Woody called after him.


	6. Not As Private As You'd Think

A/N: So I left this one on a little bit of a cliffie- don't be mad! Just leave a review and I promise to post (what is sadly) the last chapter ASAP!

* * *

_Not As Private As You Think _

"You going to be all right by yourself tonight?" Zack asked Bailey, slipping on his sneakers. "The boys and I are going to go shoot some hoops..." he seemed reluctant to leave her alone. "I mean, you can come if you want, but..." _Cody._ The name lingered unspoken in the air. Zack knew that her feelings for his brother were still conflicted, and that she was still unsure of what she was going to do as far as their relationship was concerned. Putting more pressure on her- after the breakthrough they'd made last night- seemed like a bad idea.

Bailey waved him off. "Thanks, Zack, but you don't have to babysit me. I think... I think tonight I'm going to head up to the Plaza Deck and buy myself something a little more girly to wear tomorrow."

Zack grinned. "You're getting out of bed? Voluntarily? Hallelujah!"

Bailey shook her head self-consciously and gave his shoulder a push. "Shut up."

Marcus, who was rummaging through the closet, poked his head out. "Zack, have you seen my basketball pump?"

"Did you look in the toilet tank?"

"Uh, no." Marcus said, the unfazed look on his face indicating that he was used to finding his possessions in odd places. "Thanks." he entered the bathroom and returned a second later, drying the dripping pump on a hand towel.

Bailey shook her head at the two of them. "I don't even want to know." she stood up, grabbing her purse and smoothing some hair behind her ear. "How do I look? Ready to rejoin society?" she asked.

Marcus nodded his approval. "Sure do."

"Prettiest boy I ever saw." Zack joked, referring to the fact that she was still wearing his clothes.

Bailey rolled her eyes and, after a quick peek through the peephole to make sure Cody wasn't around, she let herself out.

"I think she's getting better." Marcus remarked to his roommate.

Zack shrugged. "I think she's just getting better at coping. Did you hear her crying last night?"

"Well, you were really pushing the envelope with all those things you said about Cody." Marcus reminded him in an accusing voice. "Of course she was going to get emotional."

"I guess," Zack acknowledged. "But I think-"

The door opened and Cody entered. "Hey guys."

"Dude, knock?" Zack reprimanded. Normally he couldn't care less if his brother made an unannounced visit, but with Bailey staying here illegally, having Cody come in at the wrong time could put Zack in a very awkward position.

Cody quirked an eyebrow. "Whatever, Zack. It's not like you ever knock when you come into my roo-" he trailed off, a bemused expression on his face. "Dude, do you and I have a _problem_?"

Zack was confused until he followed Cody's gaze to the photo sitting on his nightstand- the one Bailey had cut Cody's face out of. "Huh? Oh... that." his mind scrambled for an explanation that _wouldn't_ sound completely crazy.

Behind him, Marcus snorted with suppressed laughter.

"Uh, arts and crafts!" Zack finally supplied lamely. "Expect something totally heartwarming for your birthday, man."

"Great." Cody gave Zack a look he knew well- the one that said _I'm not going to ask because I probably wouldn't believe the truth, but just so you know, I know you're lying._

"So where's the Woodburger?" Zack asked, changing the subject.

"He said he had to drop something off somewhere and that he would meet us at the court." Cody answered. "By they way, he's on your team this time, Zack. I already suck, I don't need another handicap."

"Hey, _I_ don't need one either!" Marcus teased Cody, who made a face at him. "Here's hoping Woody doesn't bring that stupid bat."

"Yeah." Zack agreed. "There's no _wiffle_ in _basketball._"

"Where'd he get that bat anyway?" Marcus wondered. "Who even _plays_ wiffle ball?"

Cody shook his head. "I think he left it in the room. Behavioral conditioning was a stupid idea in the first place. It's never going to make me forget about Bailey." As soon as he said her name, he flinched in pain.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Zack tutted. "This is guys' night. Don't go getting all depressed about Bailey!"

Cody flinched again.

"Are you doing that on purpose?" Marcus asked, staring at him.

Cody looked at him blankly. "Doing what?"

* * *

"You know, guys, I think I'm going to turn in." Cody said, wiping sweat off his brow with his shirt sleeve. He and Marcus had managed to hold their own against Zack and Woody for a while, but Cody was pretty lousy at basketball even when his heart _was_ in it... and tonight, it wasn't.

"Just one game?" Woody complained.

Cody nodded, tossing the ball to Zack. "Sorry."

"You know what? You guys keep playing. I'm going to go with him." Zack passed the ball to Woody, who looked slightly frightened at the prospect of facing Marcus without his teammate. Then he followed Cody off the court, jogging slightly to catch up with him. "Hey, Cody, you okay?"

Cody pushed open the door to the Upper Deck and together the boys found a spot by the rail, enjoying the cool breeze on their warm skin. "Yeah, I'm fine." Cody said. "I just... I can't seem to think straight. I don't know what to do."

"What to do about what?" Zack asked.

"You know," Cody said. He flinched. "Bailey." He slumped against the railing. "God, I miss her, Zack..." He paused, then confessed, "I tried to visit her last night. She wouldn't open the door. She wouldn't even talk to me."

_Oh boy._ Clearly, the reason Bailey wouldn't talk to him was because she wasn't there, but he couldn't exactly tell Cody that. "What were you going to say to her?"

Cody's shoulders slumped. "I don't know. I'm confused. I mean, our fight was just a stupid fight. We were both angry, it didn't mean anything. But I'm hurt that she didn't trust me, that she automatically assumed the worst when she saw me with London..."

Zack was having a hard time ignoring the way Cody's face was twitching at all the talk of Bailey, but_ he_ didn't even seem to notice. "Uh huh..."

"But on the other hand, I love her." Cody was being completely earnest now. Even the twitching stopped. "I know I do. Shouldn't that be reason enough to forgive her for that?" he shook his head sadly. "Does she love me enough to forgive _me_?"

Zack placed a hand on his brother's sweaty shoulder. "I can't answer that, man." he said slowly. The boy was miserable- he couldn't stand seeing Cody this way. Why in the world had he somehow manipulated himself into becoming both Bailey's and Cody's confidante? "But I think it's safe to say she's just as mixed up as you are."

Cody's head snapped up. "You've talked to her? Have you seen her? How is she?"

"I, uh, saw her the day after it happened." Zack said, not untruthfully. "She was crying, Cody. A lot."

"She was?"

Zack could usually read his twin like a book, but right now his face wore that same unreadable expression that Bailey's had last night, when she'd found out that Cody was missing her as much as she missed him. "Yeah. She said... she said that she'd never find anyone like you, and that she didn't want anyone else." Maybe it was wrong to tell Cody what Bailey had said, but wouldn't it be worse to let them both go on in misery and denial?

"She said that? She said she didn't want anyone else?" Cody said hopefully, before frowning. "Not even Jean Luc?"

"Yeah... I don't really think she gives a damn about Jean Luc one way or the other." Zack said. "...If you'll pardon my French."

Cody glared at his twin's ridiculous joke. "Ha ha. Seriously, Zack, what am I going to say to her?"

Zack patted Cody's shoulder. "Trust me: you don't want my advice on this. When have _I _ever dated the same girl twice?"

"I guess." Cody nodded, looking slightly crestfallen.

Zack sighed. "Look, man. You're better at this stuff than you think. Sure, you screw up, but you always come through in the end, remember? _You're_ the romantic one."

Cody looked at him skeptically. "You really think so?"

Zack looked around, miming uneasiness. "Why do I suddenly feel like we're in a chick flick?" He laughed as Cody shoved him. "Seriously man, just sleep on it. You'll figure something out."

* * *

Tap tap tap.

There was a knock on the door and Zack raised his head, smacking it on the underside of his bed. "Ow!"

The jolt woke Bailey, who was still curled up on top of the mattress. "What are you looking for?" she yawned.

"My badminton racket." Zack told her. "I have a date."

"A badminton date. Right." Bailey said, as if it should have been obvious. "I guess that explains why you're up at-" she checked her watch, "Ten o'clock? ...On a day we don't have school. Where's Marcus?"

"Probably already finishing breakfast?" Zack said with a shrug. "How do I know what he does in the morning? I'm never awake for it."

Tap tap tap.

He could tell it was his brother- it was so weird to hear Cody knocking on the door, Zack reflected, rubbing his sore head. Then he froze. Cody.

When they'd gone their separate ways last night Zack had told Cody to sleep on the Bailey issue, to take some time to be sure about what he was going to say to her, and that things would be clearer in the morning. Of course Cody would have taken that literally.

"_Dude, that's Cody!_" he hissed at Bailey. "_Hide!_"

Bailey's eyes widened in panic as she jumped to her feet. "_Where?_"

"_Ah..._" Zack scanned the room quickly. "_Under the bed. Hurry!_" He placed one hand on top of her head and pushed her down. Obediently, she shimmied under the bed.

"Ew, don't you _ever _clean under here?" Bailey complained under her breath.

"Uh, _no..._" Zack answered out the corner of his mouth. He crossed the room, kicking Bailey's scant few possessions under the bed to join her, and opened the door. "Hey bro! What can I do you for?"

"Wow, Zack. You're up early." Cody commented, stepping inside. He walked a few feet into the room, then turned around, running a hand through his hair. "So I was thinking last night, like you told me to..." he began.

"Uh, Cody, wait." Zack said quickly.

"No, I think I've figured it out. My feelings for Bailey, I mean." Cody continued.

Zack couldn't help but notice that he still flinched when he said her name. "I take it Woody gave you quite the beating." he observed.

"Well, yeah, but... not thinking about her is impossible." He rubbed one of his arms. "That bat does leave welts though. Anyway. Bailey." he flinched again.

"Say, man, wouldn't you rather have this conversation somewhere else? Like, on the Sky Deck? Looks nice outside..." Zack suggested.

Cody shrugged, shaking his head. "That's all right. It's more private here."

_Not as private as you think_, Zack thought irritably. "Fine."

"Where was I?"

"It's impossible not to think about her." Zack reminded him flatly, realizing this conversation about Bailey was going to take place whether she could hear it or not.

"Right." Cody nodded his head. "I kept telling myself that I was better off without her, that she brought out the worst in me- the jealousy, the arrogance, the competitiveness..."

Something shifted under the bed and Bailey's toothbrush rolled out and across the floor. Quickly, Zack walked around to Cody's other side, so that his brother would face him and not the bed where Bailey was hiding. "Must be those rats again. Sure you want to stay in here?" he asked hopefully.

Cody shot an uneasy look at the bed. "It's all right..." he trailed off.

Zack sighed. "The arrogance, the competitiveness?"

"Oh. Right." Cody remembered. "But then I realized, she brought out the best in me as well. You know, patience, tenderness, compromise."

"You're breakin' my heart, Codes."

"She made me happy, Zack." Cody said, ignoring his brother's sarcastic input. "And even during our worst times, even the other night, when we were fighting, there was never a single minute when I thought, 'I wish we weren't together.' You know?"

"Yeah." Zack said quietly. "So... now that you know how you feel, what are you going to do about it?"

"Do about it?" Cody repeated. "I'm going to do whatever I have to do. I'll apologize. I'll convince her. I'll break down her door if I have to." He shook his head. "You don't understand, Zack. Living without Bailey is like living without... solar fusion!"

Zack looked at him blankly.

"Solar fusion. Sunlight." Bailey explained softly, a shy smile on her face as she emerged from her hiding place, brushing dust bunnies off herself.


	7. Friends Are Like

A/N: Okay, first things first: the site was indeed having some issues over the past day or two that somehow resulted in "Chapter Text Not Found" errors when you attempted to click through to the last chapter or two of my story- I have not removed or changed anything. I find the best thing to do in that situation is keep trying, eventually, the site should let you in. Which means if you were one of those people who couldn't get in last night, you need to go back and read those chapters you missed!

As this is the last chapter, I really want to thank everybody who's been reading and reviewing it. Your feedback means so much to me. That said, remember that this is your last chance to review this story... so I want to hear everything! What you liked, what you didn't like, thoughts, comments, favorite parts...

I'm going to miss this story, it sure was fun to write... Without further ado, enjoy the last chapter of _Key To My Heart_!

* * *

_Friends Are Like People Who Are All Up In Your Business All The Time_

Cody spun around. "Bailey-!" he choked. "What... what are you doing here? What are you _wearing?_"

Bailey's face turned crimson. She had borrowed one of Zack's old Led Zeppelin t-shirts to sleep in. "It's a long story." She brushed a strand of sleep-tangled hair behind her ear. "Did... did you mean all those things you just said?"

"Yes." Cody breathed. He took a step toward her. "Yes, but..." He turned back to Zack, feeling ambushed all of the sudden. "What is this? How could you not tell me she was here? What- what did she do? Sleep over?"

It was all happening just like Zack had feared it would. He opened his mouth to explain and choked on his own spit.

Bailey took a few steps forward. "Don't be mad at him, Cody. He and Marcus let me stay with them because I lost the key to my cabin. Zack didn't want me to stay because he knew it would upset you, but I had nowhere to go, and he was just being a good friend..."

"A good friend, huh?" Cody repeated, sending Zack a heated look.

"It was hard to be a good friend to both you and her!" Zack said defensively.

"You're not supposed to be my good friend, you're supposed to be my brother!" Cody shot back.

"I _am_ your brother." Zack folded his arms. "I got you two back together, didn't I?"

"Y- you... What?" Cody stuttered. He looked at Bailey. "Bails, you...?"

She looked vulnerable, standing there with bare legs and messy hair, biting her lip nervously. "I still want to be with you, Cody... I... I thought that's what you wanted?"

Cody could only nod wordlessly, reaching forward and taking her hand, pulling her into his arms. She embraced him, burying her face in the crook of his neck, and he could feel a slight telltale dampness seeping into his shirt. He squeezed his eyes shut, savoring the feel of her in his arms, of the missing piece of him finally clicked back into place.

"So... are we cool?" Zack was still standing awkwardly off to the side.

Cody smiled at him, rubbing Bailey's shoulder. "Yeah, we're cool. I understand you must have been in a tough position. I'm sorry I said you weren't a good friend."

"You never said I wasn't a good friend." Zack pointed out.

"Well, I strongly implied it and you missed it."

"Hey!"

Cody laughed at Zack's offended expression. "But you are. You're my_ best_ friend."

"That's more like it." Zack grumbled as Cody grabbed him by the t-shirt, pulling him into the hug with him and Bailey. "...Well this is the most awkward hug I've ever been in."

The trio separated, grinning. "Oh, Zack," Bailey said. "I almost forgot." she crouched down and pulled something from under the bed. "I found your badminton racket."

Cody took it from her hand, keeping one arm wound around her waist. "This is _my _badminton racket."

"Well, that explains why I had a _badminton_ racket." Zack said slowly. "Who plays badminton?"

The door opened and Woody entered, wearing gym shorts and a sweatband that flattened his curly hair to his head. "Ready for some badminton, buddy?" He held up his own badminton racket, then dropped it in surprise upon seeing Cody's arm around Bailey. "Hold on." he said, dashing back through the door.

"Woody's your badminton date?" Bailey asked, stifling a giggle.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Zack answered coolly.

Woody returned, wielding the wiffle ball bat.

"Whoa, Woody!" Cody shouted, seeing his roommate advance on him with the bat. "Bailey and I are back together! There's no need for that!"

A relieved grin spread across Woody's face. "You're back together? Really?"

Cody looked into Bailey's eyes and they both smiled. "Really."

"Aww..."

The door swung open again and Marcus walked in. "Whoa. Hey... everyone!"

"Cody and Bailey are back together!" Woody informed him cheerfully.

Marcus smiled at the happy pair. "That's great, you two."

"Thanks Marcus." Just then Cody laughed. "I almost forgot, Bails. I have something for you."

"You do?"

Cody took her by the hand. "Yeah. Come with me." Followed by Marcus, Woody and Zack, he led her out of the room and up to the deck with the girls' cabins, stopping in front of Bailey's door.

"Cody, I don't have my-"

"I do." From his pocket, Cody produced her key, placing it in her upturned palm. "You dropped it running away from me." he squeezed her hand. "Don't ever do that again."

Bailey shook her head. "Never."

"You mean you had the key the whole time?" Zack complained. "You could have told someone, and I could have been sleeping in my own comfy bed these past few nights!"

"Sorry, Zack, I didn't know she didn't have a spare. If you had told me about your little rooming situation to begin with..." Cody reminded him. "Plus, I had Woody smacking me whenever I even mentioned her name!"

Marcus folded his arms. "Didn't it occur to you that if you didn't tell her you had the key, she'd be sleeping in _your_ room tonight?" he teased Cody.

Both Bailey and Cody blushed. "I... I guess it didn't." Cody said with a sheepish grin.

"That's okay." Bailey said coyly, holding up her room key. "I happen to have a big, empty room all to myself tonight..." She laughed as the rest of the boys wolf-whistled and Cody turned an even darker shade of red. She leaned up and kissed Cody on the cheek. "Thanks for returning this. It will be so nice to wear my own clothes again!" Excitedly, she fit the key into the lock, pushed the door open, and stepped into her room... right onto a grilled cheese sandwich. "What the _feathers_?"

On the floor directly inside the cabin door was an assortment of food- pancakes, sandwiches, cookies, even pieces of thinly-sliced apple.

"Uh... this might be my bad." Woody said sheepishly.

As was usually the case whenever a bizarre food-related incident occurred, the group turned to the frizzy-haired boy for an explanation, Bailey subtly scraping cheese off her shoe and onto the door frame. "Yes, Woody?"

"Well..." Woody twisted his fingers together. "See, Bailey, Zack told me you were shut up in your room and you weren't coming out for anybody or anything... So I thought, what if _I _were in that situation- brokenhearted, lonely... Well, I'd be hungry!" He shrugged. "Even girls have to eat! I thought if you weren't coming out at all, I should bring something to you. But I had to pick flat foods, so I could get them under the door, see?"

Everyone was staring at him.

"Well it sounds stupid _now_, now that I know she was never in there to begin with!" Woody defended.

"Aw... Woody!" Bailey sniffled. She threw herself into Woody's arms for a hug. "You were worried that I wasn't eating! That's so sweet! It doesn't sound stupid at all! Thank you!"

"Sliding pancakes under her door? ...It sounds a _little_ stupid." Zack muttered to Marcus, who nodded in agreement.

Bailey released Woody, looking around at the rest of the group, wiping at eyes that looked suspiciously teary. "If there's one thing I learned from these terrible last few days, it's that I have the greatest friends in the world." she said gratefully. "I mean, Marcus gave up his concert, and Zack gave up his bed, and Woody gave up his food, all for me... I love you guys."

"Yeah." Cody agreed. "I know I haven't been the most fun person to hang out with lately, but you were all there for me too, and I really appreciate it."

"No sweat." Zack waved them off. "We're just going to expect you to pay us back in favors. By the way, Cody, I have a book report on _War and Peace_ due tomorrow."

"But seriously." Marcus said. "We know you'd both do the same for us."

"I'm never going to take you guys for granted again." Bailey said softly. She reached for Cody's hand and gave it a squeeze, this time looking at him. "Any of you."

"Same here." Cody said to her. He wrapped an arm around Bailey's waist and stared into her eyes.

"Oh, just kiss already!" Woody told them.

Not needing any more urging, Bailey wrapped her arms around Cody's neck, rising slightly on her toes to meet his lips... She pulled back. "What was _that_?"

Confused, Cody pulled back as well. "What was what?"

"You just flinched!" Bailey said, slightly offended.

"No I didn't..."

"You did." "You flinched." "Flincher." Their friends agreed.

Cody groaned. "What? You mean our behavioral conditioning actually worked?"

Zack snorted. "Since you've _clearly_ forgotten about Bailey, I'd say yeah, it worked _real_ good."

"We tried to use classical conditioning to make Cody stop thinking about you." Woody explained. "Like Steven Potluck's dogs."

"Ivan Pavlov's dogs..." Bailey mused. "And you hit him with a bat every time he talked about me?" she guessed, the boys' remarks from earlier finally starting to make sense.

Cody shook his head, distressed. "I can't believe it worked! I can't have a subliminal aversion to my own girlfriend!"

"Well, there's only one thing to do then." Bailey said matter-of-factly.

"_Please_ don't say break up." Zack pleaded, and Woody and Marcus groaned in agreement.

"No..." Bailey said. "If you'll remember, classical conditioning can also be achieved by means of _positive_ reinforcement." The other boys were staring at her blankly, but she could tell Cody knew where she was going by the admiring look in his eyes. "Which is to say, if Cody were to begin associating me with a more _pleasurable _stimulus..."

"I dunno if it'll work, but I'm willing to give it the old college try..." Cody teased, lowering his head to kiss her once more. This time their mouths met, lips meshing in that sweet, familiar, but always exciting way. His hands crept around her waist as their kiss grew more heated, and Bailey smiled against his mouth, feeling like she'd finally come home... and she didn't mean getting back into her cabin.

"What just happened there?" Woody asked, sotto voce.

"Bailey's going to kiss Cody until he stops flinching." Marcus translated.

Woody threw up his hands. "Figures. I never do a single science experiment in all my seventeen years for class credit, and on my down time I get caught up in _this _freak show."

Zack gave Woody a friendly slap on the back as the three boys wandered back down the hall, leaving the kissing couple behind. "I hear ya, Woodchuck. Come on, I gotta go wash my eyes out. With soap."


End file.
